Hanger



Nov. 13, 1962 w. BELL 3,063,669

HANGER Filed Dec. 16, 1960 INVENTOR. Manse EL United States PatentOfiice Patented Nov. 13, 1962 3,063,66? HANGER Walter Bell, Monroe,N.Y., assignor to Star Expansion Industries Corporation, Mountainville,N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 16, 1960, Ser. No. 76,248 4Clm'ms. (Cl. 248304) This invention relates to hangers employed forhanging pictures, mirrors and other heavy objects on walls.

In performing such hanging operations according to customary practice,it has been found that a number of problems have arisen. Thus, it hasbeen found difiicult to align properly the nails employed to secure suchhangers. Moreover, the supporting members, such as the wire used inconjunction with the picture or other objects to be hung, is subject toslippage and consequent misalignment of such picture or other objectsupported thereby. Moreover, in some cases the wire will abrade thehanger or produce undesirable concentration of stress thereon.

Furthermore, the aflixation of the nail in the hanging operationfrequently results in undesirable chipping or other damage to the wallto which the hanger is secured.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide animproved hanger which incorporates means for aligning the nail usedtherewith in a suitable position.

Another object of the invention is to provide a hanger of the characterindicated which has improved means for resisting abrasion by wires orother flexible members employed for hanging pictures, mirrors and otherheavy objects.

Another object of the invention is to provide a hanger of the characterindicated which has means for minimizing the stress concentrationsproduced by such Wires or other flexible members.

Another object of the invention is to provide a hanger of the characterindicated which has improved means for reducing the slippage of suchwires or other flexible members.

Another object of the invention is to provide a hanger of the characterindicated which is adapted to minimize chipping and other damage to theWall to which it is secured.

Another object of the invention is to provide a hanger of the characterindicated which has improved means for resisting deformation due to thestresses imposed thereon during operative use.

A further object of the invention is to provide a hanger of thecharacter indicated which is composed of a plastic material.

Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide an improvedhanger of the character indicated which is of inherently simple designand which may be economically manufactured.

Other and further objects of the invention will become :apparent fromthe following description as read in connection with the accompanyingdrawing.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of a portion of one embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIGURE 2 is an exploded side view of the said embodiment of theinvention;

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view taken about the line 3-3 of FIGURE 1and depicting said embodiment of the invention in operative position;and

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view taken about the line 44 of FIGURE 3.

As shown in the drawing, one form of the instant invention comprises aplastic hanger which is abuttable against a wall so as to reducechipping thereof during aflixation of the hanger upon the wall surface.Thus, as appears in FIGURE 1 of the drawing, this form of the inventionincludes a hanger, generally designated by the numeral 10 and composedof a plastic or other elastomeric material. This hanger is provided withan aperture 11 and an inclined marginal perimeter IZsurrounding saidaperture 11, said marginal perimeter 12 serving as a seat for the nailhereinafter referred to.

As appears in FIGURE 2, a nail 13 of conventional form may be employedwith the hanger 10, the said nail being receivable in the aperture 11.This aperture 11 is inclined at a predetermined angle deemed suitablefor hanging purposes.

As may be seen in FIGURE 2, the hanger 10 is of generally V-shapedconformation, one leg 10a of said V- shaped conformation beingdisposable in vertical position to conform with the vertical dispositionof a wall, the other leg 10b of said conformation being inclined in adirection generally corresponding to the inclination of said nail.

The aperture 11 is aligned with a channel 14 communi cating between thelegs 16a and 16b, the said channel 14 also being aligned with anaperture 15 formed in the leg 10a.

When the nail 13 is inserted into the apertures 11 and 15, as well asthe channel'14, and driven into a wall 16 so as to dispose the hangerfor operative use, as ap pears in FIGURE 3, a wire 17 or other flexiblemember attached to a picture or other heavy object in the customarymanner may be disposed upon the nail in the position depicted in thelast-mentioned figure. The position of the wire 17 upon the nail 13 maybe advantageously noted by observing the position of the mark or indicia18 provided upon the external surface of the leg 10b. This mark orindicia 18 is preferably in the form of a boss having a star-shapedconformation, the center of said boss being at an elevationcorresponding with the position of the said wire 17 upon the nail 13.

It will be noted that when the wire 17 is in the position depicted inFIGURE 3, it tends to be wedged against the outer surface 19 of the leg10a. Since the surface so presented is that of the plastic material ofwhich the hanger is composed, a somewhat resilient gripping action isexerted between said surface 19 and the wire 17, thereby preventingundesirable slippage of said wire and consequent misalignment of anyobject attached thereto.

It will also be seen in FIGURE 4 that the said Wire rests solely uponthe nail 13 and the inclined surfaces 20 of the hanger 10 do not contactthe wire 17. Instead, these surfaces 20 define that portion of thehanger it) which is disposed between its legs 10a and 16b and whichincludes the channel 14, the said portion of the hanger serving as asturdy base for the channel 14. However, since the Wire 17 makes nocontact with the inclined surfaces 20, the possibility of abrasionthereof by the Wire 17 is eliminated. Any tendency of the wire to cut orextrude the plastic material is similarly eliminated.

It will also be seen that since the hanger 10 is composed of a plasticmaterial and since the inward face 21 of the leg 10a presents a planarsurface and of a generally triangular conformation and abuttable againstthe surface of the wall 16, any tendency of the nail to chip orotherwise damage the said wall 16 will be resisted by said face 21 whenin abutment With the Wall 16. This resistance will also be augmented bythe yieldability of the plastic material which will tend to support thewall surface against deformation radial of the opening formed by thenail 13.

It will also be seen that the entire length of the nail 13 whichprotruded from the wall during operative use is supported by the hangerand that the inclination of the nail is determined by the inclination ofthe apertures 11 and 15 and the channel 14 formed in the hanger. Hence,the nail is automatically inclined at the desired angle and maintainedat such angular inclination. Moreover, since the wire 17 is disposedagainst the surface 19 of the leg 10a and at a short distance from thewall 16, its moment arm with respect to said surface 19, as well as withrespect to the wall 16, is quite small, thereby minimizing any tendencytowards bending the. nail. Thus, the hanger and nail are seen to be ofinherently strong design.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated and described herein abovehas been selected for the purpose of clearly setting forth theprinciples involved. It will be apparent, however, that the presentinvention is suscep tible to being modified in-respect to details ofconstruction, combination and arrangement of parts which may be resortedto without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention asclaimed.

I claim:

1. A hanger comprising a member having a pair of legs in V-shapedconformation, one of said legs being disposed vertically and the otherbeing inclined relative thereto, said vertically disposed leg having anouter planar surface for abutment against a wall, said legs havingaligned apertures, means defining a channel extending between saidapertures for receiving a nail inserted in said apertures, said channelbeing inclined relative to the inner surface of said vertically disposedleg and including an open recessed portion extending between theconfronting surfaces of said legs for exposing the nail to support aflexible member.

2. A hanger as set forth in claim 1, said member having lateral surfacesinclined outwardly and downwardly from said open recessed portion.

3. A hanger as set forth in claim 1, at least the inner surface of saidvertically disposed leg beign formed of plastic material to resilientlygrip such flexible member.

4. A hanger comprising a member having a pair of legs in V-shapedconformation, one of said legs being disposed vertically and the otherbeing inclined relative thereto, said vertically disposed legs having anouter planar surface for abutment against, a wall, said legs havingaligned apertures, means defining a channel extending between saidapertures, a nail inserted in said apertures and seated in said channel,said channel being inclined relative to the inner surface of saidvertically disposed leg and including an open recessed portion extendingbetween the confronting surfaces of said legs for exposing the nail tosupport a flexible member.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,198,222. Hemenway Sept. 12, 1916- 1,235,l59 Recker July 31, 19172,330,373 Moore Sept. 28, 1943 2,765,998 Engert Oct. 9, 1956 FOREIGNPATENTS 296,572 Great Britain Sept. 6, 1928.

